Sequel To Summer Rain
by yeuxdessirene
Summary: A sequel to Summer Rain. It's pouring and Sasuke remembers a truth he doesn't want to know. Sasuke
1. Chapter 1

The rain fell, beating the grey pavement and my toned body. It always reminded me of her. She was like the rain; she could be harsh and unforgiving, but gentle and loving. I watched her walk. Dirty water flowed off her body like wine from a bottle. It looked like she had been training for days. My vision became blurred. The rain had started to pound down harder.

I squinted. I could still see her, but in the few seconds that my vision had left me, she seemed to have gotten father away. I sped up, my eyes locked on the short pink hair I knew so well, and on the womanly curves my brain hadn't gotten used to. When had she gotten so gorgeous? No, that wasn't it. She had always been gorgeous. I just noticed it more.

I thought about what she had most likely done when I had left. Watching her strong, lean body, I knew that it might not be what I imaged. She was different. She was changed. I knew she wouldn't be the same, I just didn't ever think she would be _that_ strong, or _that_ beautiful.

I thought about what happened after I had left. The days ran into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. I would train and train and train and kill. I would wash the blood off my hands and start again. I was a monster with a cause, which only made it worse.

And yet… every lonely night I thought of her. Every rainy, hazy second without her, my brain played a ever constant reel of her. A flash of long pink hair flowing lazily in the end. A flash of silver as she sliced through her thick mane to save me. A warm feeling as she hugs me. A twang of guilt for leaving her. My heart was obsessed with her being. My soul was taken with her fullness of life. My body lusted after those curves. And yet. And yet, my brain would not accept that I loved her. My brain refused to. It rejected it. It tired to fight it.

And then I saw her for the first time in three years.

She looked stronger, faster, smarter.

She looked like she wasn't a crybaby anymore.

I was proud. She had become strong. She must have worked hard.

Her head turned. As her hair swished and her neck turned, I smirked. And then I saw those pure Emerald eyes for the first time. Even though my face held no trace of anything then arrogance, my heart skipped a beat.

The rain was coming down harder now, and it took more effort then I was accustomed to, to move with my usual stealth. I watched her as she continued walking down the pathway, blissfully unaware of my presence.

For a moment, I wondered if she had perhaps forgotten about me. I wondered if she erased me from her life, like I had tried to do with her. Even though I had failed, miserably, I wondered if she had tried. A pang of deep sorrow struck me deep in the heart at the thought of her not wanting me anymore.

Sometimes, I hated myself for what I had done for her. I remember the stages I had gone through. Denial. I had left her, unconscious, laying on a stone cold bench. It was the perfect metaphor for our relationship. I was cold while she was warm. I kept telling myself that she deserved it. She was a stupid fangirl. I was an avenger. We were different. We would never be the same. We would never follow the same path. I kept repeating this to myself for days. The days turned to weeks, the weeks, to months, the months to a year. One day I had stumbled across a girl with green eyes. They reminded me so much of her. Her lover had been chosen by Orochimaru to become a container within twenty to thirty years time. It seemed like forever, but with this boy's unique bloodline trait, it would mean nothing. He had the ability to not only heal his wounds, he would also live to an incredible age before his skin would fall to a single wrinkle. He was perfect for Orochimaru's growing arsenal.

We had raided the village, looking for him. It had been cleared out, but in the last little hunt, under a hidden trap door, down a stone spiral stair case, to a cold limestone room, with ancient looking torches sending an ancient looking glow across the room, sat a boy, whom looked to be my age, maybe slightly older, with a completely blank face.

A girl sat behind him, her arms wrapped around his stomach, her face buried into his back, her body shaking with such force from the gushing of tears that she moved them both. As she let out a particularly long sob, a flicker of anguish flashed across the boys face.

I stopped as the girl pulled her head up to look at me. Her eyes glistened with tears. Those eyes were like my Sakura's. Those eyes held a truth that I didn't want to know. Those eyes held the pain I didn't want to withstand. I looked at them.

I walked up to them. I had pulled a kunai from my thigh holster. I walked up to the boy. He stared blankly ahead, but tears slowly streamed from his eyes. The girl cried harder, her long black hair bouncing around from the force of her angst. I was stood in front of them the girl let out a long, dramatic sob. The boy spoke.

"_Please, Aryn, do not cry. I wish to be taken with honor."_

I sliced through the skin on his arms. He let out a short cry, but it was soon extinguished. The girl had stopped making noise, but I saw her eyes open wide in horror was warm blood flowed on to her fore arms, and her hands and fingers.

As I looked in her eyes, I saw a girl trying to protect a boy she loved.  
As I looked in her eyes, I saw a girl I once knew.  
As I looked in her eyes, I saw what I had done to her.  
As I looked in her eyes, I saw a truth I didn't want to know.

"_Take off your shirt. Wipe your blood all over it. Give me your Hitai-ate and run. Don't ever stop running. Don't ever stop running until you know he's dead. Don't ever stop running until you know, deep down inside, he'll never come after you. Take her. Leave and never come back. Forget what's happened. Forget my face. Forget the curse mark. This is nothing but a dream. This is nothing but a figment of time. This, this is nothing."_

They both looked at me with shock etched across their faces, but quickly the boy did as he was told. As soon as they had finished, the girl threw herself at my feet and said,

"_Thank you. Thank you."_

My heart hardened. She sounded so much like my Sakura.

"_But why?"_

I looked down at the ground. Then across at the stone wall.

"_Because you reminded me why I live."_ I responded before I knocked them both out, smeared his blood across my body, and his Hitai-ate and slowly walked up the spiral stone stair case.

Questions had been asked, and answered. He had killed himself, and his lover, in order to escape the horror of Orochimaru's dungeons. I had suffered a slight consequence, for not preventing this, but nothing I hadn't dealt with.

I still couldn't understand why I had let them go free, to grow old in their love, to make love, and carry on a lineage.

I chalked it up to a weakness for green eyes.

I crept closer to her, flying from to tree to tree behind her. I became to recognize the path she walked. She ventured to where I had left her all those years ago. She walked to a place that stirred memories and emotions.

I remember the second stage. Anger. The night I had let the lovers free, I tortured myself. And then again the night after that, and then again the night after that, and then again and again until days dragged to weeks, and months and then a year. I would not forgive myself. I would not make it stop. I would never let it go.

And then I had seen those green eyes. It was in a dream, a flash of a memory played in a restless night of sleep. A flash of emerald green, with a sound of laughter and the sight of pink hair flowing in the wind. I remember that she wasn't any girl.

She was my Sakura.

And my Sakura was stronger now. My Sakura was not a quitter. My Sakura, was my Sakura. She would understand. She would grow up. She would move on.

I had moved on to the final stage of acceptance.

I watched as the rain pelted us both harder. It came down in great sleets from the heavens, and it seemed the gods were trying to prevent me from getting to her. I would get to her. She was my Sakura.

I jumped from a tree, on to the stone pavement. I made no sound. Like lighting, I was in a flash behind her. She had stopped and been looking at the ground. She now looked up, and for the first time in such a long time, I heard her sweet voice;

"_Hello Sasuke-kun."_

Her words rolled out in the rain, and the chill of the air froze the moisture within them, making puffs of condensation rise from her lips. I leaned in, positioning my lips by the nape of her neck, before responding;

"_It's been a long time Sakura."_ I knew my breath would tickle her senses. I knew it would warm her, even if it was for only a second in time.

She then responded with an expected phrase.

"_Are you going to kill me, Sasuke-kun?"_ I knew she expected it. I knew she had heard the stories. I also knew the story she couldn't even dream of. I smiled.  
_"Do you expect me to, Sakura?"_ My breath played at her ear.  
_"I do, Sasuke."_ I stepped closer, my body warmth combinding with hers, mingling with hers, becoming one with hers.

Up close, I noticed how strong she had become. I noticed how gorgeous she was. I noticed that she had nothing to give the impression she was involved with another man.

"_And why would I do that? It seems as if you've been waiting for me."_ I responded, cool and calculated. I was so close to her now. I wasn't even touching her but every cell in my body was alive. Every pore wanted to soak her in. Every essence of my being had missed this cherry blossom.

"_I do still love you, Sasuke-kun." _She whispered and I exploded. I let the words sink into my brain. I let them sink into my core. I let them sink into my being.

I listened to the beautiful song of a bird sing, of the rain falling, and of time stopping.

"_I know._" Was all that I whispered in her ear before I was infront of her, kissing her with passion I didn't know I had. Kissing her in a way I didn't think was possible. In way I had only heard in fairy tales. I kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until we both couldn't seem to breathe.

We took a breath. We took a breath and she was crying, and holding on to me with everything she had one second, and then banging her fists against my chest with no real anger, but with a heavy amount of sadness. I wrapped my arms around her. She broke down in my arms. I picked her up.

I ran. I ran to the only place I had once remembered as home. I ran through the soggy streets, through the rain, through the doubt, and the anger, the hatred, and sadness and into the love of Sakura's heart. I ran and reached a side of town so worn down it seemed nonexistent. I was home. I was home and I was never going to leave. I was home and she would always be there with me.

I walked, her body shaking against mine. Her arms wrapped around her neck. Her tears streaming down my chest. I walked through our broken community. I walked until I came to our house.

I went through the gateway and after setting Sakura on her feet for a second, I opened the door. In the doorway, I removed our shoes, and then picked her up again. She was terribly fatigued, I could tell. I was too. We needed sleep.

I walked to my parents old room, because I knew it would have the biggest bed. I forgot the painful memories that filled this place, that crept under floorboards and seeped through the ceiling and focused on the pink haired girl in my arms. I slide open the door to my parents room, and walked through.

It was cold, I immediately noticed, and Sakura shook in my arms. I pulled back old blankets, that had somehow fought and won against the test of time, and looked at the fire place, which was located at the foot of the bed. Deciding to put Sakura in the bed for now, I lowered her down and detached her body from hers. As much as I regretted her warmth leaving mine, I knew it would return later. After venturing out into the rain for wood, I returned to find Sakura, completely encased by the old blankets sitting on the floor in front of the fire place. Her ninja supplies, and over dress sat on a chair by a desk on the right of the room. She looked up when I entered.

"_I thought it was a dream."_ She whispered. I lay the firewood down inside the fireplace, and lit it. We immediately had a crackling fire. I sat down on her left. She hesitated before leaning into me, enveloping my body in her cocoon of blankets. I slowly removed my shirt, and placed it on the ground behind me, before laying on top of it, her small body resting against mine.

The rain pounded on the roof. The rain pounded on the ground. The rain pounded on the trees. The rain pounded on the broken bits of wood that lay strewn about outside. But the rain no longer pounded on my heart, and with the warmth of Sakura's silky skin against me, I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

I opened my eyes to the sight of a beautiful boy looking at peace. His breathing was even. His chest rose and fell against my breasts. We were so close. His face was buried into my neck, his breath was warm against my neck. It tickled my senses, sending a bolt of electricity down my body. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and then slowly ran my hands down his back. His skin was smooth, and his muscles rippled under my touch. He was so beautiful.

The fire was slowly diminishing. Its orange-red flames slow demise was enchanting to watch. My eyes began to close, my breath becoming in tune with Sasuke's. Our breathing became one

I shifted on top of a body that felt like a cloud. I found my head nestled into the crook of a girl's neck that looked like an angel—her lips slightly parted as her breast went up, and down with each passing breath. I slowly propped myself up. The fire was gone, and we were still on the floor. Slowly, I picked up her sleeping, limp form, and set her on the bed. I settled the blankets over her, and she nestled into pillow. I went searching for wood to rekindle the flames in the fire place.

Speaking, of rekindling flames, I thought of a cherry blossom with little to no clothing on, sleeping in that room. My breath quicken as my mind drifted to the lovely noises I could make her make. It quickened as I thought of her silky skin, and lush curves. I wondered if she would even want to touch me after everything. I knew she stilled loved me, but was she ready to pick up where we had ever started? I brought the wood back to the fire place, feeding it, watching it's hunger slowly diminish as the flames licked the logs, making them crackle, and blast sheets of warmth across the room. I looked at Sakura. Her hair was spread out against the pillow, a small little hand sprawled out next to her. Her perfect pink lips were still slightly parted, her eyes closed, her expression innocent.

It made me want her more.

I felt a warm breath tickle at my neck, before feeling something that made my breath hitch. Soft warms lips softly caressed my neck, working their way up to my lips. His breath was warm against my face. I opened my eyes. His eyes were heavy lidded with desire.

"_..sasuke-kun…?"_

He looked me straight in the eyes. His hand went down to my shirt. His fingers played with the hem at the bottom. I closed my eyes. Was this what I wanted?

His lips crashed on mine. We pushed and pulled against each other in a struggle for dominance. We nipped at each others lips. I sucked on his bottom lip, slowly letting it go after an agonizingly long kiss. He pounced, pushing me back against the pillow, demanding to explore my mouth. I gave in. His tongue lashed mine; a moan began in the deep clutches of my throat.

This seemed to turn him on more. His lips traveled down my neck and across my collar bone. My hands found themselves tangled in his hair, raking down his back, and then back to his hair as his lips found mine again.

"_Sasuke-kun."_ My voice was full of lust. I was ready.

As soon as that moan escaped her lips, it was like my passion was reborn. There was nothing else I wanted, nothing else I desired, _nothing_ else I needed.

My hands found them selves back at the bottom of her skin tight black shirt. I looked at her, her lips a deep red for our battles. Slowly, I started to lift it up. She responded, her body moving up ward to help remove the garment. The removal of the cloth first showed her perfect lean stomach. As it was lifted higher, my breath began to quicken rapidly. The linen slowly began to reveal what I had lusted for, for so long. I slowly removed the garment, holding her against me. Her breasts pressed into my chest, brought me to a new level. I slowly laid her back down on the bed, and laid my body back down on top of her, my head, once again finding the nape of her neck.

It felt delicious. Her skin was cool against mine. Her hard nipples lay against my alert epidermis, and I couldn't stand it any longer.

"_I need you on top of me, Sakura."_

As soon as those words crossed his lips, something snapped inside of me. He had been teasing me for so long, softly brushing his toned body against my taunt skin. As I climbed on top of him, I slowly started to lay my body against his. He growled, before reaching his hands up, and forcing my body against his. My breasts were now tightly pressed against his broad and powerful chest. He let out deep moan. I lay my head on his shoulder, and I began to attack his neck. Nipping, biting and sucking on it, his hands wrapped around my back, his fingers nails lightly brushing against the skin. I pushed myself up, and began my next rampage against his lips. His hands ran up and down the curves of my body, teasing me.

_**And then we both wondered, **_

_**What are we doing?**_


	3. Chapter 3

I was the first to snap out of the lust filled dream that lulled and dulled our senses.

_What was I thinking?_

I push myself off of him, my skin becoming cold. I close my arms over my chest and suppress a sob.

_Why is he doing this to me?_

I frantically look around for clothing to layer on top of my body. I grab something soft, and dark, wrapping it around me as quickly as a tornado spins.

_I do not notice it is his._

She is off me so quickly I barely have time to react.

_What is she doing?_

She looks so confused, her emerald eyes are frantic, searching. I stare because I know I'm doing this to her and its making me feel uncomfortable, it's making me feel emotions I don't like to deal with.

_Why is she leaving?_

I run. Like everything I was at one point faced with, I run away from it. I run away from something I know will make me feel alive. I run away from what I know will be a hard journey. Because even though I am so strong, _I am so scared of love._

She is out the door like a scorned women. I reexamine my last statement, and find that it is the truth. She is a scorned women.

_And it is my fucking fault._

My legs push against roof tops, the tiles sting the air as the crunch slightly.

I am not my usual graceful self this morning.

I am running, and running so fast, that I don't even notice where I am going.

_And before I know it, I am back at where it all began._

I follow her as soon as my daze has disappeared and I realized that this time, she has left me, not me leaving her, and the reality dawns that she is not only physically stronger, but emotionally stronger. It was stupid for me to believe that a simple touch, a few kind words and gentle actions are enough to win her back.

_Because I am the one whom changed her._

I jump down, and the garment that I have wrapped around my body whips against my bare legs and I am so suddenly aware of my nudity. The grass is softer then I imagined it would be, but it after a summer's rain. I look at the ground, not expecting the two people who are in front of me, their eyes upon me. I know that the sunlight shines off the blond hair of the man to my left, and that the man to my right has just put away a very popular orange book. I know they are going to ask questions, _and I don't know what to say._

She has disappeared over a ledge and I wonder if she has fallen. She has fallen so many times for so many different things and there is nothing that I know of her to say otherwise. She fell for a boy with a tragic past and onyx eyes, with high cheek bones and look of extreme boredness permanently etched across his face. She's fallen for Kakashi-sensei's allusions of my mangled body. She's fallen and fallen and I've never helped her up, _but I'll be damned if I don't this time._

I now notice that the cloak that is wrapped around my body is his. It has his smell, his touch and his crest. The black fabric is foreboding, and I wonder if it is currently sucking the power from my body, just as he has sucked the love from my life. But it is so warm, and so soft, and something whispers _give me a chance_ as I wrap it close to my body. The fabric slides across my bare skin in the wind, and there is something so inviting about it.

_Naruto speaks._

"Is that the-.." he begins before I hear the dark liquid voice behind me.

"The Uchiha crest." The words are out and the truth has been spilled.

_It begins._

It has been years since I have seen his face and he is aged. The blue eyes are still bright, but they have matured. Kakashi-sensei looks like the man he has always been. Orange book safely pocketed, signature cool man pose in place. _It is as if nothing has changed._ But everything has. Because even if the grass and the wind and the appearances are reminiscent of a simpler time, everything has changed. There is a naked cherry blossom in a cloak that belongs to a traitor kneeling on the ground, a cherry blossom that keeps them together, gathered under her refreshing shade on a hot summer's day, and her dazzling beauty, and she looks like she is about to break.

_And tension could be cut with a knife._

"Teme." Are the first words uttered of his mouth. They are harsh and quite and filled with rage. His face is filled with pain and anger and hate, and it _scares_ me. Because I am the cherry blossom and I do not want them to fight.

"Dobe." It is as if I never left. We stick with names we know in a place we remember. It is still the cherry blossom between us—it is the same old fight, but everything has changed. My revenge has been taken—the blood has been drained from his body by my superior skill. It is the battle of who is stronger; who is better.

_It is the battle over who she will choose._

I feel the air charge with their fight. I know what will happen next. It is like we are on the rooftop of the hospital again. We were twelve, and they were just testing their strength. We are so much older now, and there is much more at stake. Then, they were flexing their muscles. Now, they are trained killers. I have to make a choice. I am no longer a weak, fluttering cherry blossom.

_But the strong tree_ _from which it hangs._


	4. Chapter 4

I stare at him, slowly collecting chakra in my hand. I ready a chidori. This will be the final fight. This will decide everything.

_This is the end._

I feel Sasuke filling his hand with chakra. I watch Naruto do the same. Kakashi-sensei senses it too, but I know that this time is different. This time, it wouldn't be Kakashi-sensei that will stop them, throwing their arms away. They are men now—they're stronger, faster, determined. It will take more then what he is to them.

_It will take a cherry blossom._

I launch myself at Naruto. My feet fly off the ground. My eyes are ablaze with red and his are burning with a blue intensity. He is flying at me, and we have just powered ourselves into a battle that will have a heavy outcome. The air is rushing through my clothes—the breeze ripples his jacket. It is although time has slowed. We are closing in on each other, but at the same time we are not.

_We are headed for disaster._

As soon as I feel Sasuke lift his feet from the ground I know what I must do. As I see the spinning mass of blue in Naruto's hand I know that this is the end. There is a faint breeze, and I watch as it lifts a piece of Kakashi-sensei's hair—I look straight into his eyes and he is not moving. He understands.

_I begin to move._

He screams 'Ransangen!' as he is forever moving forward at me, and I know that this one will be more powerful, and more damaging then the one he hit the water tower all those years ago. My voice sounds off 'Chidori!' and is the seal of what is to come.

_We both tense for the impact._

I am faster. I move quickly and effortlessly. It is almost as if it was meant to happen; as if I was made for this final moment. I am not weak. I am not pathetic. I am not pitiful.

_I will stand strong._

The impact does not come. I feel a soft and gentle touch and I do not understand why. There should be a burning feeling somewhere on my body. I feel my chidori rip into flesh, searing it away, and yet, I feel no pain. Could Naruto have missed? Could his ransengan breezed past me, and his hand now be wrapped around my wrist as I slam a chidori into him? With my Sharingan activated I can still see, but it is different from real sight. It does not seem real, and I do not know why.

_It is almost as if I am seeing what I want to believe is happening._

I have grabbed both of their wrists. I am strong and powerful—I am Sakura and I will show them that I am not weak. They are my boys and I am their girl. I am what holds them together. Their momentum is strong, I notice that they are going to hit each other, I pull their wrists, their hands full of sizzling chakra toward me, toward my body, because I do not want them to hit each other; and as their heat begins to burn I realize my mistake.

_It is though I am on fire._

I open my eyes, deactivating the Sharingan as I hear the hitch in her breath. It sounds different then when my lips are traveling down her neck, or when my hands softly caress her skin, or when my tongue has just done an amazing feat. It is surprised in a sickening sort of way and my eyes widen in horror when I see what I have done. My chidori has ripped through her flesh, above her abdomen, and just below her breasts. The soft, gentle touch is her hand clutching my wrist. She has a surprised, defeated look on her face, and I realize that my hand is embedded within her body, the blood is flowing freely along my skin. I look at Naruto. The fierce intensity of his eyes is gone. The blood is drained from his face. He is at a lost for words. Kakashi-sensei's eyes are closed, and he is looking at the ground.

_I always seem to have blood on my hands._

The pain is completely unimaginable. I look at them, and my vision is slightly blurred. Naruto looks horrified at was has happened. His ransengan has charred my flesh, burrowing deep into me. Sasuke is beyond words. Naruto has pulled his hand from my body, quickly—the sudden movement and pain makes me cry out slightly. His face looks grave. I fall slightly. Sasuke still has his hand buried inside my flesh and at my falling motion, flexes his hand inside me, as he is trying to catch me. I gasp in pain as his fingers move across vital organs. He is behind me suddenly, and he is supporting me.

_Tragedy seems to follow us._

The black cloak has been completely hitched up and around her body by the combined force of these attacks. Her long slender legs are shown, and it is becoming more and more obvious that she is naked. I look at Naruto's face and see that he is no longer a child who doesn't understand sex and the female body as he stares and it is not because he has given her a fatal blow to her beautiful body, but because this is the first time he has seen its beauty. I growl and it is low, and it is primal because she is _mine_. Kakashi-sensei is watching us and I know that he letting us take control—he no longer can protect us. Her body is convulsing. She has her hand on the wound caused by Naruto. Naruto continues to stare.

"_Teme. Why is Sakura nude?"_

The words sting. I knew he would ask him that, and I am still completely unprepared. I can feel the blood spilling out of my body and I scream in my head that now is not the time for those kinds of questions. I lift my head up, and look Naruto straight in the eye.

_My voice holds truth as I say, "Because I love him."_

The air is filled with silence. I am holding a girl who proclaims she loves me, even though she looking death in the eye, and I am filled with a feeling of being _alive._

Naruto looks deflated. I don't have time to be sorry. I need to begin treatment or I will die. _Death._ The word has a funny ring to it, and I am finally starting to understand why so many fight to flee from its grips. It is an odd feeling—but I find comfort within its unsure foundation. If I die, I will die knowing he is safe, and that he knows of my feelings. If I die, I will die a powerful kunoichi. If I die, I will die by the hands of the two men I love the most, and not by a strangers hand. I will know that I have died out of love, and I will die knowing that I have just changed their lives.

_I would if heaven looks like a spring field of cherry blossoms._

Her voice is steady even though I know she must be in extreme pain. Her face has an odd sort of calm across it, and it is making me uncomfortable. She has murmured to help her down to the ground so that she can begin treatment. Naruto continues to stare as We begin a slow decent to the ground. She thanks me for not removing my hand from the wound, explaining that it has stopped her from bleeding to death on the spot. She is in my arms, at an angle and she slowly lifts her delicate hand, charging it with green chakra, and life saving measures. I watch her, she does not feel the need to look at her wound, her eyes closed, her head is resting in my hand. Her face is blank and it frightening. She coughs up blood. It stains her lips in a sickingly seductive way and I cannot help myself.

_Do not leave me, I whisper into her lips as they brush and push and melt together._

It is an odd sensation, the feeling of my chakra molding and folding my insides together, because I have never been this badly injured. It is an odd sensation as I cough up blood, only to have Sasuke begin to kiss me, whispering a plea against my crimson lips. It is an odd sensation that as quickly as we began, we will end.

_But love is an odd sensation to begin with._

When he snaps out of his daze and his defeat, he is by her side in a second, even though I am kissing her. I lift my head to look at her face, and he stares in complete wonder. With my free hand, I stroke her face. The red liquid seeping from her mouth is smeared over her face and it is strangely exotic looking. Naruto is starting at where he struck her, and then to us, and is in complete awe. She is drifting in and out of consciousness—I can tell by the dilation of her pupils. I feel his eyes one me.

_Don't you __**dare**__ hurt her is all he whispers._

His lips are nice. It would be nice to die in his arms—I always knew I would. Everything is fuzzy and I cannot see correctly. I feel my strength leave me, but I know I must be strong. I am what hold them together. I am Kunoichi.

_I should tell him again, just in case._

She opens her eyes, and they are like shining emeralds—they hold a truth to them that cannot be replicated by anyone. Her lips move, and she tries to speak—her voice is gargling with the blood in her throat. I tilt her head up, she looks at me, her face is pale, and I feel strange. She looks me in the eyes, holding my gazing with an unblinkable stare, and says _I love you._

_I refuse to loose you._

I feel so…light. My body feels like it is floating in the air. I am aware that Kakashi-sensei has returned with Tsunade-sama, but I don't remember him ever leaving. I know their faces are there, but they are out of focus. I hear Tsunade whisper my name and I know she is glaring at the men whom have probably killed me. She moves Naruto from my left side immediately, and removes my glowing green hand from the wound. An extreme feeling of flight engulfs my body. It is a strange high. I hear her smile, looking at my work to save my life, and whisper good girl, as she finishes the temporary work I have done. The wound that Sasuke caused is deeper, and I am not surprised. He has always been the one whose words and actions cut deep, _but whose simple words and looks mean the most._

A women that Naruto has identified as "Tsunade" is now feeling my flower. She is the best medic nin around, and I wonder if it is enough. She is healing, and her face is contorted with concentration. I look down at Sakura and she looks completely tranquil. There is a hint of a smile playing on her lips, and I wonder why. I feel eyes on me, and look into the chocolate brown eyes of the medic nin whom could save my flower's life. Her hand is heading toward mine, the one that is located inside of my love, and I know that she needs me to remove it. My eyes are glue on Sakura, as slowly, and with Tsunade's help, I remove my hand. It is weird feeling—my epidermis brushes past organs and there is a squelching noise as my hand is pulled free from the pooled blood and organs.

_I stroke her cheek with a bloody hand, and I wonder if there is any other use for my fingers other then inflicting pain._

Sound is starting to fade, and everything has different velocities and pitches. It is like a jumble of sounds that form a jigsaw puzzle that I must put together to be able to comprehend anything, but I am too light to do so. The lights are hazy, and everything is in a soft focus. Time slows. I know that people are moving around me, but they seem to be moving at a different pace then time. But as he brings his face past mine, he is in focus, and fast, and the words he whispers are crystal clear.

_I love you._


End file.
